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Hello all,

I started creating my own Chapter (initially to be called the Iron Bears) about a year ago but inbetween a move overseas and a change of job, I didn't make all that much progress apart from making a few initial posts on here. These posts are now lurking in the abyss somewhere on here where they belon Now that things have settled down a bit, I've had the chance to start up painting again and I thought that starting a blog would be a good motivation to get my army completed.

I'm kicking things off with my devastator sergeant which I have (mostly) finished. First tactical squad and a dreadnought from the AOBR set will be up soon for people to look at. Comments and criticism are very welcome. (Just to pre-empt, there are still visible mould lines but I haven't invested in tools toget rid yet. A bit of a mistake with hindsight but I was too eager to get going ) I highlighted with snakebite leather and it doesn't appear to have come up very well either so any suggestions on how I could improve that would be appreciated.

All the best,

TSD

i dont think the brown goes well with the red head. if you made the brown a different shade, and made either the head or the body stand out more it would look better in my opinion.

Thanks for the comment Sageheart.

The reason I chose the dark brown was because I haven't really seen a chapter this colour before and I wanted to move away from the usual red/blue/black/green that a lot of chapters already use. I think the lighting in the pictures doesn't really help as it's not as dark in real life as it looks here. When I post progress shots, I'll try to rectify that. I agree on the helmet, I think using a more contrasting colour might help. Thanks again for your feedback.

tsd

Do you have a name yet?

I was thinking something along the line of the Warp/Void Harriers. I've never been particularly good at naming things so if anyone can suggest something that might suit them, I'd be interested to hear.

Cheers,

tsd

Void Harriers huh? Sounds OK I guess. Do you have any make-shift fluff in mind as that info could really help you decide a suitable name.

I actually misread Void Harriers as Void Hammers and thought "hey, that's not a bad name". I don't know if you think that sounds good or not but I figured it was worth adding to the discussion

@Accolade That's not bad at all actually, I'll certainly give it some consideration.

@Karmine, I do have some ideas for fluff and I'll get round to posting more detail soon. I'm thinking of making them an Irons Hands or Imperial Fists successor chapter who have specialised in anti-tank and siege warfare. Void Hammers/Hammers of the Void would certainly fit that I think.

As a minor text based update, I hope to put some WIP shots up from my first tactical squad tomorrow and I'll give people a wee look at my Captain/Chapter Master in his early stages.

tsd

Looks like a nice start Soupdragon, I'm trying out a tan/brown colour scheme as well to try and get away from the cliched colours you see all the time.

I like the kneeling devastator sergeant but one question : why give him a powerfist?

BTW I like the Void Hammers as well, nice punchy name

Cheers Blackhand. I've seen your Sabretooth marines and they're looking really good. I'll keep a keen eye on their progress.

In answer to your question re: the powerfist, I gave it to him for modelling purposes more than anything because it made the model a bit more dynamic. There was also the thought in the back of my mind that it would give a good close combat option but I haven't ever really played the game properly so don't know if that's right or not!

tsd

I know what you mean with trying to find dynamic limbs! My only suggestion is that you will be putting the devastators up high or in the back of your army and they will probably not get into CC, at least not if everything goes to plan
There are a couple of pointing arms out there , the aobr sergeant, on the space marine commander sprue, and somewhere there is a pointing chainsword though I am not sure where you get it from.

You can consider me subscribed and interested. I like the paintjob and how the guy is kneeling. Looks good

thesoupdragon wrote:@Karmine, I do have some ideas for fluff and I'll get round to posting more detail soon. I'm thinking of making them an Irons Hands or Imperial Fists successor chapter who have specialised in anti-tank and siege warfare. Void Hammers/Hammers of the Void would certainly fit that I think.

Ok then, if you want your chapter to specialize in anti-tank and siege warfare, then I think that your best option is to go along with the "Void Hammers" name.

Also, I wish you luck in creating the fluff.

@BLACKHAND - I hadn't really thought about the fact that they should stay well out of trouble! At least if the worst happens he'll be prepared I've been scouring my bits box and sprues and as you quite rightly point out there's a few dynamic limbs knocking about. I'll see what I can cobble together for one of my tactical squads. At the moment the two squads I have are both AOBR so I'll see what my (so far) limited coverting skills can do!

@ShadowAngel - Thanks for your comments, I hope the rest of my work lives up to expectations!

@Karmine - Thanks for your supportive words re: the fluff. I think that creating a background for the chapter is harder than the painting and modelling... well sometimes anyway

As an interim update, heres a few WIP shots of tac marines, a terminator and my captain/chapter master. The marines are about half done and the termie is all but there minus a final wash and a highlight. The master is going to be my first attempt at GS work too so it'll be interesting to see how it come out. I was thinking of taking the head off the hammer and replacing it with some sort of homemade multi-headed flail to count as a thunder hammer. Does anyone know if this has been done before?

Also, apologies if the pics are a little dark, I'm still getting the hang of lighting and because the captain is undercoated in black, the detail is a little difficult to make out just now.

Thanks for everyone's interest so far,

tsd

Sweet mother of the emperor they are some pretty sweet mother minatures

If you paint the black part of the base a lighter color that may help bring attention to the models paintjob.

Not saying their is anything wrong with your colors, I like them but if you wanted to 'brighten' them without lighter colors you could try that.

The colour scheme basically looks like they're Blood Ravens with the red swapped for brown/tan.I like it tho, the cream colour goes well with it. and kudos to you for going with a slightly different colour scheme.

I must say the Captain looks really nice and sinister, I really like him!

IMp. Monkey

I like them!

Looking good Soupdragon!

Like the idea of a multiheaded flail, you may want to pick up some chains and spiky bits from the chaos rhino kit (or any chaos kit) to build it with ....tho come to think about it they might not be the right scale have you thought about using actual jewelry chain?

Liking the brown/cream contrast as well.

So here's a bit of the fluff I've been thinking about for my chapter. Tonight it's more of a general build-up rather than the main meat of the story surrounding the origins of the Chapter. I'll post the rest tomorrow all being well.

Little is known about the creation of the The Warp Lords Chapter but their history since is long and distinguished. They are experts in seige warfare but are also adept at close quarter fighting. When given a task to complete they are remorseless and carry out orders without hesitation. These factors and their unswerving adherence to the codex has led many to believe that they must be descended from the Imperial Fists but that could not be further from the truth.

Kastellet Alpha, the main planet in the Kastellan solar system in the Segmentum Obscurus was relatively advanced at the time of the Great Crusade. Technologically, the system had the means for inter-planetary travel and were capable warriors with relatively advanced weaponary, derived unknowingly from STC patterns left to them by their forefathers during the Dark Age of Technology. The Imperial Fists were sent to investigate the system for both its technological and socialogical achievments. The Fists made contact with the ruling class and issued them with the ultimatum to join the human empire willingly, or be subjugated accordingly. The elders of the system held a council to discuss whether or not they should resist the annexation of what some of them deemed to be their Empire. A few dissenting voices were overruled by most of the governors and rather than fight and be destroyed by besieging Astartes, they system embraced the vision of a united human race under the Emperor. However, some of those who had been unhappy with the capitulation of the council would not give up so weakly...

Many of the soldiers, led by some of the younger nobles, left the main agri-world of Keastellet Alpha and sought refuge on the outer planet of Attica, claiming to prefer exile in peace than the ignomony of being a vassal state. Here they began to develop plans for a war against the goverment who had betrayed their people. Two decades passed and the Kastellan system had quickly adapted to being part of the Imperium. The small force of Imperial Fists left to oversee the transition had trained the already well developed militias and the remaining soldiers of the regular army until they were satisfied they would function as a solid PDF. Without the need for them any more, the small IF force left to rejoin their battle brothers in claiming new, less obedient worlds for the Emperor. The rebel faction perceived their chance for a coup had come.

Led by the belief that they could win a lightning war rather than any prolonged conflict the rebels launched a strike at the heart of the Capital city of the system. The rebels had been dismissed two decades before as being an unimportant nusiance and most had forgotten by this time that they even still existed. Defences around the capital were good, but the garrison of soldiers was weak and decadent. No-one had thought an assault could come, essentially from within. The rebels had left men behind when they departed the world, men they knew they could trust when the time came. These infiltrators had risen high within the military and were able to shut down the cities main defences prior to the orbital assault from the rebels. Within three days the rebels had secured the seat of government and declared independence from the Imperium.

When word of the rebellion reached the nearest Imperial system, it was decided that swift and decisive action would be needed. A force of seige experts also used to close quarter street fighting would be needed to bring the Kastellen System back into the fold while making an example of the rebels...

More to follow tomorrow, I've reached the end of my creativity tonight, and my girlfriend has just got home so I should see how she is!

Comments and criticism are more than welcome as are ideas and suggestions. Thanks for reading.

tsd

set the bandwagon to crusing speed...this seems like a job for the blood angels(wait wait wait) or....OR...the iron warriors, lol.

@narceron - give that man a round of applause. Iron Warriors it was.

@BLACKHAND - I'm going to go hunting for some chain this weekend. If I can't find any then I think I'll go for green stuffing some along with the flail heads. Also, having been following your chapter's progress I've been inspired to do something a little different with my chaps. I'm going to have a crack at making Anglo-Saxon themed peripherals for them (what else could a Brit abrad do really!) such as seaxes, saxon pattern power swords etc... My ultimate aim is to fashion a scale replica of King Rædwald's Sutton Hoo vendel helm for my captain... I think I'll start with the simpler stuff first

@Rose_ and Stephen - many thanks for your comments. I aim to get more done this weekend so watch this space

@1-i - Thanks for your comment. I intend to finish the bases of all of the models like the one I did for my sergeant in the OP. I've gone for a light-grey drybrush over the black to try and give it the look of a dusty, moon-like terrain. I think the light grey contrasts nicely with the darkness of the models and as you say, helps bring out their paintjob.

@ImperialMonkey - You noticed that they are Blood Ravens incognito then I thought about going for Ravens and then thought twice. They're a pretty cool chapter and I love the paint scheme but lots of folk have them and when I did some test colours I really ended up liking the brown with the parchment. I've also found it a fun experience coming up with a bit of fluff for my own chaps. Speaking of which, onto the next post...


As always, I'd like to hear anyone's comments on the fluff and the painting, be they positive, or constructively critical. Only by making mistakes do we learn!

tsd

update

It's been a while but here are some new WIP pictures - the Chapter Master is still being finalised but he's nearly there.

As always, comments and criticism are very welcome.

Oh what lovely models! I'm liking them a lot but wait.... *shrieking Psycho sound* .. ITS A MOULD LINE OF DOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!! Pleaseeeeeee get it of the power maul!

I must say I'm really liking these. The color scheme is different so therefore interesting IMO. Definitely would like to see more.

Just made an awesome find in my bag of old bits, a Mk I Predator! minus it's main cannon though

My camera is a bit broken at the moment but I'll post some images of its transformation from its current state (as it was when I painted it as an eager 13 year old), to whatever it looks like as painted by an eager 30 year old. I've also done quite a bit of work on the Chapter and I have my Land Speeder, two dreads, two tactical squads and my devastators nearly ready.

Pictures will follow...

great find!

Nice work all round! I was totally going *YEAH GO IRON WARRIORS!* when the IF's left. Nice stories

Not sure if it's been mentioned.. at least I couldnt see it. Your highlighting that you mentioned in your OP, try mixing the snakebite leather with some bleached bone. 25/75 bone/leather, then do another at probably 50/50 or 75/25. It'll give you the bright edge you were looking for and still tie in your cream/brown tones.

Love the alternative paint scheme, I'm all up for something out of the ordinary!

Thanks to everyone for their comments so far!

@Monkeh - Thanks, I'll have a go with those mixes and post an update when a few are done. Highlighting has always been the thing I've struggled with most.

I'm just about to order some of the FW MK III and IV marines to try and tie-in with the idea that the Chapter was stranded by the warp storm for a long time and has only recently had more access to the newer patterns of arms and armour. This should go nicely with the old and battered Predator I found.

Should be an interesting next step in the project I hope. As always, pictures will be forthcoming.